Which Star Trek TNG era RPG

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Gabriel

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Like the title says, which Star Trek: The Next Generation era RPG would you go with?

There's the Last Unicorn Games version featuring the Icon system. It existed in a world where the TNG series and DS9 had concluded but Voyager was still on the air. The game engine is a dice pool which is somewhat similar to the Silhouette system. Support wasn't exactly expansive, but it did have a few key supplements as well as a separate corebook based on DS9. There's also a pretty cool online only suppelement called Spacedock which is a big expansion for starships.

I ran this one for a handful of adventures back around the turn of the century. I didn't use it for Star Trek, but I thought the system was pretty fun, and had some versatility. There was a little bit of a glitch with the die rolling due to a wild die mechanic, but I think it could probably be easily patched with something like Silhouette's rules for additional high dice.

There's the Decipher version which was called the Coda system. Nemesis and Enterprise were the newest Trek when it hit shelves, and the book has a strong late TNG era slant despite claims it's an all era game. The system is kind of like what if d20 used 2d6 instead and had a completely different philosophy behind feats. The system wasn't supported long, but still managed expansion books for Aliens, Creatures, and Starships. There was also a sort of splatbook for Starfleet officers.

The big problem with the Decipher version is that it's not very well explained. Instead of being intuitive, making a Federation starship crewperson is unduly complicated involving having to select a prestige class type construct right out of the gate. On the plus side, it superficially seems like there's a lot of room for advancement in the system rather than just increasing skills. Also the starship combat seems pretty neat. While the support isn't deep, just about everything is superficially covered, so it's a bit more complete (?) than the Last Unicorn Games version?

Finally, there's Star Trek Adventures. Allegedly it's all eras, just like Decipher's version. But like Decipher's version it has a strong (in this case stated in the text) slant towards TNG era.

Well... It's the currently supported version of the game. There's already lots of material. I don't know how deep it goes. A lot of it seems like splatbooks and adventure books.

When the Decipher version was new, there was a lot of complaints from the RPG purchasing community that Star Trek RPGs only let you play Federation crewpeople. This was actually something the Decipher version attempted to fix by making a bunch of character types which weren't Federation crewpeople. With Star Trek Adventures, the pendulum seems to have swung back to making starship crew. Or at least there are lots of splatbooks along those lines.

I can't venture an opinion as to anything but the most superficial elements of Star Trek Adventures. The base mechanic seems functional. It's just that there's all kinds of extra modern narrative currency mechanics which I can't really guess how they'd work in play. All in all, I find the corebook a bit impenetrable.

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At the moment, I'm leaning towards the Last Unicorn Games Star Trek: The Next Generation game for any potential TNG gaming I may do. But if anyone has any insights into the other two games, I'm definitely curious.
 
I'm going to say FASA. It's still the only Star Trek RPG I've liked. (The only one I haven't experienced is Modiphius, but the metagame stuff isn't for me.)
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FASA is objectively not a good game system... but somehow it conveyed Star Trek in a way that the other systems just didn't.

JG
 
I'm going to say FASA. It's still the only Star Trek RPG I've liked. (The only one I haven't experienced is Modiphius, but the metagame stuff isn't for me.)

Due to the kind of support it got, and the era in which it existed, I tend to think of the FASA version as a TOS and TOS Movie Era RPG.

It certainly had some TNG material for it. I've also seen a good deal of fan material, particularly for TNG starships in the ST:TSCS system.

For me, FASA seems firmly connected to TOS Movie era. For no particular reason, it just doesn't feel like it suits TNG. I'm not claiming this is objective. I'm just saying that's my gut feeling. FASA Trek as THE TNG system would certainly be something I wouldn't mind seeing someone expound upon.

FASA is objectively not a good game system... but somehow it conveyed Star Trek in a way that the other systems just didn't.

It may just be my age and feelings of nostalgia, but the old school style percentile mechanics and presentation sensibilities just seem more suited to classic Trek before there was a TNG or any prequels.

Just like to me TNG feels like it should have, at minimum, late 80s style genre emulation mechanics and/or dice pools of some sort.

No dislike of FASA Trek here. Maybe in the past, but not now. Currently I think of FASA Trek as the TOS Movie Era RPG.
 
The fact that everything needs to be averaged with a stat. Or sometimes thirded between the skill and two stats.
The fact that there's just so many damn skills, and, depending on interpretation, "Small Unit Technology Operation" is a different skill for (say) Klingon and Federation tech, so it has to be learned twice.
The fact that anybody with PSI can run roughshod over most characters who don't, given that non-psionic races tend to have the PSI stat heavily penalized.

JG
 
The fact that everything needs to be averaged with a stat. Or sometimes thirded between the skill and two stats.
The fact that there's just so many damn skills, and, depending on interpretation, "Small Unit Technology Operation" is a different skill for (say) Klingon and Federation tech, so it has to be learned twice.
The fact that anybody with PSI can run roughshod over most characters who don't, given that non-psionic races tend to have the PSI stat heavily penalized.

JG

Ah, you're not house ruling it.
 
Ah, you're not house ruling it.

Not that he should have too in the first place. I don't mind house ruling yet I am a firm believer in using an rpg as is. Hiuseruling is and never will be the main selling point of an rpg imo. I buy the rules so that the work can be done for me. Not to have to fix someone else rpg rule issues.

Another fan of LUG Trek. I want to like STA yet between needing to try and figure out how the narrative metacurrency works and it not being very explained imo. I will buy the books for STA yet probably never run it
 
I only own the LUG one so that's the one I'd use. However, I only picked it up because it was cheap and don't consider Star Trek TNG all that gameable.

I'm unfamiliar with Decipher or FASA. STA runs on 2d20, enough said.
 
I want to like STA yet between needing to try and figure out how the narrative metacurrency works and it not being very explained imo. I will buy the books for STA yet probably never run it

I'm buying STA for the sourcebook material and to keep the line alive long enough that I will finally get my Gamma Quadrant sourcebook. Hail the conquering Dominion! :smile:
 
True, but if it only takes a tweak or two from the GM to enjoy playing the game then I say go for it.

Sounds like James Gillen had too many complaints about the system to easily houserule it though. I like house ruling systems to make them fit me, my game and my group better. But it can't be too much, then I might as well as switch to a different system that I'll have to house rule less.
 
I certainly understand the complaint leveled against FASA Trek. I owned a copy back in the 80s. Somewhere along the line I got rid of the RPG parts. I kept the tactical starship game. The reason was that I felt FASA Trek was an old, clunky mess that I'd never return to.

And it's not me getting older and wiser or my tastes becoming more refined or any shit like that. For whatever reason, last year sometime, I decided I wanted to get into FASA Trek again. So, I reacquired the rules.

And now, I "get" the rules. They still have that old school clunk to them. But now I suppose I view it as charming as opposed to how I viewed it before.
 
I'm buying STA for the sourcebook material and to keep the line alive long enough that I will finally get my Gamma Quadrant sourcebook. Hail the conquering Dominion! :smile:

The sourcebooks are really good imo. Even if I miss how the LUG devs had a more realistic flavor description of starshios imo. STA just gives them a general descriotion of the Oberth class. In LUG no one liked realkt serving on them and when time came to refit them were brojen up into soate parts. Their is a reason the Klingons one shotted that vessel in the third star trek movie. As they are and were pieces of junk.
 
Sounds like James Gillen had too many complaints about the system to easily houserule it though. I like house ruling systems to make them fit me, my game and my group better. But it can't be too much, then I might as well as switch to a different system that I'll have to house rule less.
I was never a GM, I was a player. And my group used several house rules, introducing races from DS9 for example.
 
I'm not sure why everyone is ignoring the clear and obvious answer to the OP's question?

The Prime Directive RPG from Task Force Games.



:hehe:
 
I'm not sure why everyone is ignoring the clear and obvious answer to the OP's question?

The Prime Directive RPG from Task Force Games.

I never had the original TFG version of Prime Directive, despite being deep into Star Fleet Battles during that time.

I picked up the GURPS Prime Directive years ago. I liked it at the time, but I eventually got rid of it.

Needless to say, Prime Directive definitely isn't very TNG. :smile:
 
Crabby Star Trek geek mode engaged! :grin:

Well, first pick was a parody game in a Challenge Magazine where Chief Obnoxoid Diana Toy had "Irritate Everyone" skill at 98% as a racial ability but Chief Geek Westly had Irritate Everyone at 100% as a learned skill. It had a random plot twist generator and everything.

Second would be Twerps Twek for the cute little counters.

Okay, seriously, I'd probably use the Modiphius system as it's okay, available and simple.

I'm tempted to put FASA Trek in the joke part of the post but really, it was a product of its time. I don't really like action points, I think the life path was interesting if very slow, don't mind the math, but really, really good ship to ship combat simulator stuff even if it came in a separate box. Also, unlike GURPS Prime Directive, FASA got just how much better a Phaser I is than a .22 caliber pistol. In FASA Trek, that little guy will kill you dead and not leave so much as ashes.

My recent Prime Directive game suffered from a lot of disagreements on the nature of the Federation. I've got that one guy in my group, you know? The guy who's seen every episode of every series a dozen times. He played a Kzinti...
 
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I'm not sure why everyone is ignoring the clear and obvious answer to the OP's question?

The Prime Directive RPG from Task Force Games.



:hehe:
Came to post this, you, sir, are awesome.

However, as much as I LOVE PD, it does suffer from a lack of ship rules.

It's the only game I'd use for Trek, despite that.
 
I'm tempted to put FASA Trek in the joke part of the post but really, it was a product of its time. I don't really like action points, I think the life path was interesting if very slow, don't mind the math, but really, really good ship to ship combat simulator stuff even if it came in a separate box.

I understand there was a first edition which had some kind of narrative starship combat system. Then there was an original 2nd edition box set with the familiar three blue books which lacked any starship combat entirely, probably because the Star Trek 2 version of the starship combat game existed by that point.

By the time I picked up the game, it was being sold as a big 2nd edition Deluxe set. That version of the game had whatever starship combat game components they had lying around to toss into the box. My original came with the Star Trek III: Starship Combat Roleplaying Game components. The current one I have came with the 2nd updated version of the later ST:TSCS game.

My recent Prime Directive game suffered from a lot of disagreements on the nature of the Federation. I've got that one guy in my group, you know? The guy who's seen every episode of every series a dozen times. He played a Kzinti...

Yeah, if he wasn't wearing pink then he was just a poser.

However, as much as I LOVE PD, it does suffer from a lack of ship rules.

What do you mean? Just resolve all your starship combats with Star Fleet Battles. Easy Peasy. :devil:
 
I've always wondered how hard it would be to adapt/bolt the Starship simulator rules from FASA Trek to PD.
 
I have only played FASA and it was as TNG. I don't remember ever understanding the rules fully, but as mentioned above, saw that Phasers were freaking deadly.

Additionally, after a few mishaps, the crew welded the holo-deck doors shut.
 
The Holodeck is the one piece of Star Trek equipment that wouldn't be out of place in Paranoia...
 
I thought the Last Unicorn Games' line was fairly well supported given how short their time with the license was.

Regardless, having played all the other except FASA's and playtested Modipheus' effort, I remain happiest with the LUG version if I must use an "official" rulebook.

My interest in Star Trek sort of died due to the reboot movies and Discovery being... Very much not my Start Trek (he said, incredibly diplomatically). But if I were to do a new game, I would likely tinker with D6/Mini 6.
 
I think d6/Mini 6 could definitely be a good approach. I don't think I would select it as my preference. I see Star Trek as a highly skilled people doing technical sorts of things type of setting. Meanwhile, I see d6 as more simulating a type of setting where it's people getting by on their seat of the pants abilities and instincts.

The reboot movies certainly did a number on me too. I watched them and I felt like my Star Trek which had been so near and dear to me for all my life was being spat upon. I haven't watched Discovery, but the snippets I've seen make me realize it's definitely not for me.

I have seen Star Trek Beyond a few times and I've warmed to that one. It still isn't really Star Trek to me, but I can at least enjoy that particular installment. As for the other two movies, I simply don't like them and view them as extremely poor films and not what I'd define as Star Trek at all.
 
I saw a blog post by Farsight Blogger from a long time ago, he said he had conversion notes he was working on for a homebrew D6 Prime Directive. He pointed out that the Stat+Skill base was kind of similar in both games. Which makes sense.

For me, though, the Tricode System IS the draw. It's got degrees of success/failure, and a neat way of marrying these mechanics to the narrative element.

Not that I'd balk at playing D6 Trek (it sounds great actually), I just really dig the Tricode System.
 
I think d6/Mini 6 could definitely be a good approach. I don't think I would select it as my preference. I see Star Trek as a highly skilled people doing technical sorts of things type of setting. Meanwhile, I see d6 as more simulating a type of setting where it's people getting by on their seat of the pants abilities and instincts.

The reboot movies certainly did a number on me too. I watched them and I felt like my Star Trek which had been so near and dear to me for all my life was being spat upon. I haven't watched Discovery, but the snippets I've seen make me realize it's definitely not for me.

I have seen Star Trek Beyond a few times and I've warmed to that one. It still isn't really Star Trek to me, but I can at least enjoy that particular installment. As for the other two movies, I simply don't like them and view them as extremely poor films and not what I'd define as Star Trek at all.

My friends, aware of my issues with the rebooted films have insisted that 'Beyond might be worth a watch. I just haven't got around to it yet.

Discovery is bad in every way that matters to me and even more so by the boldfaced lie that it's "Prime Timeline" is the same thing as that of the pre-reboot 'Trek. (It isn't, because it can't be, because CBS and Paramount are rival entities now. "Prime" was that bit at the start of the first reboot movie, nothing more).

Anyway, back on track with gaming... D6 in it's Mini6 incarnation seems to be suitable for TV show style campaigns. I used it for a couple of short mini-series without a problem, though I did use a few of the alternative rules presented in the book.

If not D6... Honestly, my next stop would be Cyberpunk 2020's Interlock System. It is more granular without being hugely complex, has a slow enough experience curve for a long-running series and the Reputation rules would be a good fit too.
 
I think the best fit for ST is a low-crunch system with an emphasis on non-combat like Dr. Who or something similar.
 
You could probably also do a good job running Star Trek with the Traveler rpg core book and buying some Star Trek Enclopedias or check out the various Star Trek wikis.

If you like tinkering, then any generic system will do however, something like Fate Core works well if you get the Trekkie flavour right for character aspects and scene descriptors.

It all depends of whether you want to play a well supported line, or just handwave your own games; there are merits with either route.
 
If you like tinkering, then any generic system will do however, something like Fate Core works well if you get the Trekkie flavour right for character aspects and scene descriptors.
I've heard the Atomic Robo implementation works especially well for Trek, which makes sense - the comparison has only just occurred to me, but Tesladyne in the comics is really kind of like a privately run Starfleet stuck on 20th Century Earth.
 
You could probably also do a good job running Star Trek with the Traveler rpg core book and buying some Star Trek Enclopedias or check out the various Star Trek wikis.

If you like tinkering, then any generic system will do however, something like Fate Core works well if you get the Trekkie flavour right for character aspects and scene descriptors.

It all depends of whether you want to play a well supported line, or just handwave your own games; there are merits with either route.
Someone has done a fan-made Trek using Cepheus Engine...


I'd rather play Traveller using Prime Directive's Tricode System than Trek using Cepheus, but I bet Alpha Quadrant is still pretty fun...
 
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